I’ve discussed the need for higher rear-facing car seats in the United States, given how much safer it is for young children to rear-face instead of forward-face. The AAP recommends children rear-face until at least the age of 2, while in Sweden, the standard is for children to rear-face until the age of 4. However, in the United States, we lag behind in rear-facing abilities since the vast majority of car seats on the market can only rear face to around 30 or 35 pounds.  Diono is helping to change things.
The majority of rear-facing car seats have weight or height limits that preclude rear-facing for extended periods of time. This is why the new Diono line is so important.

This May, the Diono Pacifica  (pictured) and Rainier are slated for release on the 15th. Each has a 50 pound rear-facing limit, which are the highest limits currently available anywhere in the United States. Both seats also extend the forward facing limit to a high of 90 pound and the booster mode to 120 pounds. The Pacifica is available for pre-order on Amazon for $280 and the Rainier is available for pre-order at $315.

I would recommend the Pacifica or Rainier to any parent or adult interested in providing a safe car seat for a child between the ages of birth and 12; either can easily be the only car seat you ever need, and will provide the highest amount of protection available from any car seat in the United States.

Update: Reviews for the Pacifica and Rainier are available here. A comparison between the seats is available here.

If you find the information on car safety, recommended car seats, and car seat reviews on this car seat blog helpful, you can shop through this Amazon link for any purchases, car seat-related or not. Canadians can shop through this link for Canadian purchases.